The Strawberry Girl

The story of the tumultuous love affair that inspired Edvard Munch to paint The Scream – ‘a bewitching debut novel’ The Pool

Summer 1893. In a small Norwegian fishing village, local girl Johanne dutifully gathers berries for tourists and poses barefoot for painters as ‘The Strawberry Girl’.

When Johanne becomes a maid for the wealthy Ihlen family, their wayward daughter recruits her as a go-between in her pursuit of the controversial painter Edvard Munch. But when she is asked to hide more than just secrets, Johanne must decide whether to take the risk…

About the Author

Lisa Strømme was born in Yorkshire in 1973, and studied at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. She lives with her Norwegian husband and their two children close to Åsgårdstrand, the coastal village where Edvard Munch had a summer home, and which provided the setting for The Strawberry Girl. The Strawberry Girl is her first novel.

Praise for The Strawberry Girl

“A tale of lost innocence, the power of art and the pain of love”

Sunday Express

“Bewitching debut novel… It’s a vivid, intoxicating blend of fact and fiction, desire and creativity. If you’re passionate about art, you’ll love it – and if you didn’t think you were remotely interested in it, you will be by the end of it”

Pool

“An altogether painterly book, full of vividly evocative scenes”

Anthony Gardner, Mail on Sunday

“A lovely, poignant, evocative novel. Delicious”

Saga Magazine

“The raw power of colour is emphasised again and again”

Cath Sell, Nudge

“This is a creative mix of fact, and fiction and readers should find themselves swept up in this intriguing story. Art lovers will adore it and those that know nothing about art will wish they knew more.”